Protect
by Rachel.Ongaku
Summary: Follow the stories of Naruto and Hinata after the war. Naruto vows to protect Hinata after she once again risks her life to save him. Everything changes when Hinata is kidnapped while still injured. Can Naruto save her? How far will he go to save Hinata? NaruHina. NejiTen. SakuLee. ShikaTema. New Chapter Every Day. Rated M just in case.
1. What Happened

**Authors Notes:**

I do not own Naruto.

I encourage all feedback. I can handle the flames, though they won't be necessary.

This is my first fanfiction in awhile and my first decent Naruto fanfiction. I try my best to stay in character but I will admit that some characters are easy, like Neji, and some are hard, like Hinata. So let me know if it gets to ridiculous.

I will try my best to get a chapter up almost every day. The longest will be a week. I plan to have the story finished this summer.

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Hinata woke up to find herself in a hospital bed. As a kunoichi, this wasn't incredibly rare. She closed her eyes and tried her best to remember how she ended up there. She shivered as she remembered and she felt her side sting a little since it was still recovering from the wound. She and her peers had arrived at the sight of battle against Tobi. For the most part she stayed out of the way, providing assistance only with her byakugan. But she found herself spurred into action in order to defend Naruto. She remembered being certain that she would die, but happy that she was able to help Naruto to defeat Tobi.

She was in Konoha's hospital. She had to be. It looked so familiar. That meant that the war was likely over. She had no idea how long she'd been out. She turned her head to the size and let out a soft noise as she saw Naruto asleep in a chair next to her. On the other side of the bed was a table filled with cards, candy, balloons, and other gifts. She almost started crying because of how much she appreciated everything. But before she could the door to her room opened and a small group of her friends, with coffee and other drinks in their hand were estatic to see Hinata awake.

The noise startled Naruto and he fell out of the seat. Hinata was overwhelmed by the group and they could tell. So most of them left, leaving her with Neji, Shino, Kiba, Akamaru, and Naruto. She looked up to Shino for an explination. She didn't have to say anything. They were close enough that he understood what her expression meant.

"The war's over. You've been out for almost a month." Hinata was shocked at how long she'd been in the hospital. Shino took a break in his explination so that she could take in everything that he was saying.

"A lot has happened. The shinobi world is weak and many of the villages are still fighting amongst themselves. There've been a rise in rogue shinobi and they've been taking advantage of weak clans." Shino paused once again. It took Hinata some time to put together why he would mention rogue ninjas taking advantage of weak clans. It must mean that her clan was weak. She looked up at Neji and could see the sadness in his eye. His eye. Neji had lost one of his eyes. She stared wide-eyed at him and he sighed sadly, reaching one hand up to touch the space now covered by an eye patch.

"Only five members of the Hyuga clan remain." Neji whispered. Hinata's mouth hung open and emotions quickly took over. Two of the remaining Hyugas were in this room. She sobbed openly as she spoke for the first time since awakening.

"W-who's left?"

"You, me, Hanabi, Hitomi, and the Hyuga Elder." Neji answered. He didn't allow a pause like Shino. "You're the head of the Hyuga Clan. And you and Hanabi are in danger. Three kidnapping attempts have already happened. Sai and Sakura are on duty to watch over Hanabi. Naruto here is supposed to watch you." he said, nodding in his direction. Somehow Naruto had fallen back asleep, now on the floor.

"Though sleeping on the job isn't good." Kiba noted.

Hinata could barely hear what Neji was saying, everything was happening so quickly. She remembered her clanmates, Ko, her father. It was a familiar pain, loss. She'd lost her uncle and her mother during her childhood. But nothing like this had ever happened. Hinata cried quite loudly, awakening a very concerned Naruto who rushed to her side. Hinata was so upset that she didn't even seem to notice who's shoulder she was crying into. She didn't even care.

The rest of the group became incredibly uncomfortable. They decided to leave and come back later to answer more questions. Before Kiba left he got the box of tissues from a table on the other side of the room and placed it on the bed next to Hinata.

The kunoichi cried until she feel asleep. Naruto's comforting arms were around her, but she felt as if she couldn't even feel them. Nothing in the world could've preparred her for this.

As Naruto felt the girl in his arms relax and drift to sleep he began to cry softly.

"I'm so sorry." he whispered.

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Please review. I need you guys.


	2. Naruto's Promise

**Author's Note:**

I do not own Naruto.

Please tell me about any mistakes. I'd appreciate it.

Chapter Three will be out tomorrow!

* * *

Naruto found himself running for his life, trying to reach her. He was terrified of what he might find. In the middle of battle Hinata had recklessly thrown herself in the way to protect Naruto. He could still remember the way her hair moved in the wind and the horrible scream of pain that followed her decision. He found himself with some of her blood on his jacket. Anger took over, he knew that he couldn't lose this fight. And that he wouldn't lose Hinata.

Sakura took her away from the battlefield and to one of the areas were the med-nins were gathered. She was in critical condition, almost dead when she arrived. They thought there was no hope, but Sakura refused to give up. She was still hard at work when the battle, and therefore the war, ended. Naruto tried to make his way into the tent the girls were in, but Shino stopped him. Naruto tried to fight back.

"You'll just get in Sakura's way." he said. Naruto blinked. For once he was certain that he heard a great deal of emotion in Shino's voice. That terrified him. Hinata was Shino's teammate. He rarely showed emotion so this was alarming. Something was wrong.

Naruto was exhausted in every sense of the word. He heard sudden silence inside the tent and a very sad looking Sakura opened the flap to come outside.

"It's all up to her now." she whispered before sitting down next to Naruto.

"I don't know if she'll live or not. She lost a lot of blood. Her lung was punctured. Her heart was failing her. I did my best. But there's nothing more I can do now…" Sakura reported. Naruto got to his feet and immediately ran into the tent, followed by Shino, Kiba, and Akamaru.

The girl that was laying on a smal cot in the middle of the well lit tent was a saddening sight to the shinobi. Her skin was paler than they'd ever seen before. Her lips were almost blue. She was wrapped in several bandages and nothing else, except for shorts because so much of her body had to be bandaged. Naruto tried to hold back a sob.

Twice.

Hinata had risked her life for him twice. And for the third time that he'd seen, she was on the brink of death.

He felt guilt. This had to be his fault. If he'd trained more he wouldn't have needed her to protect him. She deserved better. She had done everything for him. She'd loved him. But he didn't find the words in time. He couldn't find the emotions in time. Several times he'd playing out in his mind how he'd finally ask her on a date. But he'd never found the right combination of time and confidence.

Guilt. Regret. Remorse. Anger. Hurt.

All the feelings were overwhelming. Naruto felt his knees go weak and he wouldn't fallen if Akamaru hadn't caught him in time. Kiba and Shino were obviously affected by the situation as well. Their team was closer than they appeared. Both of them wanted to protect Hinata because of how much she meant to them.

But it was nightfall and the shinobi were needed elsewhere. Kiba and Shino eventually gave in and left Hinata's side. But no matter how much Sakura begged, Naruto refused to leave Hinata. He promised himself that he would stay with her. Sometime during the first night, when it was quiet and the reamaining troops were asleep. Naruto moved his chair right next to Hinata.

He hesitantly reached out and touched her hand. He was shocked by how cold it felt. He wrapped his fingers around it and held on. He listened to her shallow breaths and a few times was terrified that she'd died.

"Hinata. I'm so sorry. I promise I'll protect you. You don't have to protect me anymore. Never again, okay?" he whispered.

While Naruto was certain he was alone. Sakura was still sitting outside. She heard his words and nodded before getting up and leaving.

A week later, after they'd returned to Konoha, Hinata's health had gotten stronger. But the weight of the war had become evident in Konoha. Hanabi was able to escape the first kidnapping attempt with the help of her teammates. But after that, the plight of the Hyuga clan became evident. So Tsunade decided to move to protect the remaining members of the clan.

The Hyuga elder was against having body guards, and she wouldn't force it on the elderly man who'd just seen his last child burried. Hitomi was the younger sister of Ko. She had the caged bird seal, but still she was likely in danger of being held for ransom. The girl agreed to be accompanied by one of her teammates at all times. Neji had originally been against it. But after defending Hanabi against a second kidnapping he found himself overwhelmed by how dangerous it could be. So he agreed to have Lee and Tenten stay with him most of the time.

Sakura told Tsunade about Naruto's promise to protect her. So the duty to protect Hinata, most likely the most targeted Shinobi in Konoha at least, fell to Naruto. He took his duty seriously, rarely leaving HInata's side. When he did leave either Neji, Shino, or Kiba had to be with her. They were the only people he knew cared about Hinata as much as he did, or would try their best to protect her.

Naruto made his promise to Hinata. To protect her.

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Reviews feed me.


	3. What's Next

Hinata awakened a few hours later. She felt warm arms wrapped around her and it shocked her a little. But when she looked to see that she was in Naruto's arms she blushed and let out a small squeak that woke him up. She smiled at Hinata. Both of their hearts were beating wildly as they made eye contact that only lasted for a moment before both of them blushed looking away.

Naruto felt like he'd invaded her privacy by sleeping with her like that. He began pulling away, but Hinata's hand stopped him. She felt safer with his arms around her. Still, she blushed and wasn't able to come up with words.

"H-hinata..." Naruto whispered gently. He moved back into a comfortable position and laid Hinata's head on his shoulder. Without really thinking about it he leaned down and kissed the top of her head. It shocked both of them. Naruto was flustered.

"Uh, um...sorry..." he responded quickly. He sighed.

"I really am sorry. About everything Hinata." he continued. Hinata shook her head.

"Y-you couldn't have done anything. You can't protect a whole clan at once during a war like that..." she answered.

For a moment Naruto didn't understand, they were talking about two different things. Finally it clicked that she was talking about her clan.

"O-oh. I'm sorry about that too..." he didn't want that to seem like nothing. This war would shape the remainder of Hinata's life.

"B-but I'm also sorry that you got hurt because of me. Twice" he paused and let his hand gently traced over her shoulder, where the first scar was. Where she was stabbed. He immediately felt a little anger over it, but he was still just glad that she was alive and awake. Hinata flinched, not out of pain, but out of remorse. She didn't want Naruto to feel bad.

"Sorry." he responded quickly as Hinata flinched. It just made her feel even worse.

"N-no. Don't be. P-please don't be Naruto-kun. I wanted t-to protect you...b-because..." Hinata closed her eyes and leaned back against Naruto. She was surprised at how all of this made her not even care anymore. She was close to Naruto. But she didn't deserve him. She didn't deserve to be head of the clan either. She would give it to Neji. He was more suited.

"Hinata. I'm also sorry that I haven't given you a response." he said warmly. Hinata's eyes snapped open and looked up at him.

"What?" she whispered. He brushed his fingers through her hair before leaning forward and whispering into her ear. It all felt so wrong after what'd happened. But at the same time it was appropriate because he didn't want to wait any longer.

"Will you be my girl?" he whispered.

Two Weeks Later

It was Hinata's first day out of the hospital. She wasn't ready to walk yet, her legs like almost every part of her body had been injured and were also weak. Naruto carried her home. She gave him directions to her room. He opened the door with his feet and blushed as he realized that he was going into his new girlfriend's bedroom for the first time.

The walls of the room were cream on the top two thirds of the walls and a light lavendar on the bottom thirds of the wall. She had a Queen sized bed with dark purple bedding and black pillows. She had a desk on the other side of the room and above the desk were hundreds of photos of her friends, family, and an overwhelming amount of pictures of Naruto. He blushed, but managed to lay Hinata down on her bed.

"Are you doing alright?" he asked as he brushed his fingers across her forehead. Hinata blushed as well.

"Y-yes. Thank you." she whispered. She was still weak, and it broke Naruto's heart to see her this way. But he knew that she would recover and that eventually they'd get to do all the stuff that normal couples get to do. They'd go get ramen and watch the stars together. That sounded like a perfect date to him.

Slowly Naruto laid down next to Hinata and wrapped his arms around her. It seemed like this was they only way they were now, and both of them loved it. Hinata loved being protected and Naruto loved protecting her. It was perfect that way.

"Naruto..." she whispered in a sad voice.

"Hm? What's wrong?" he asked.

"The house is so quiet..." she responded. Compared to the hustle of the large Hyuga clan, the place was now silent. Somewhere in the house might be one of the other four Hyugas. But odds were that they were on the opposite side of the house.

Naruto was saddened, knowing that Hinata was going through a tough time both physically and mentally.

Then all of a sudden, there was a crash. Naruto got to his feet, ready to defend Hinata when the door slowly creaked open.

Three ninjas entered the room.

But they weren't a threat.

"S-sorry. Hitomi just wanted to visit Hinata." one of the shinobi, who looked like a genin said. A girl with remarkable resemblence to Hinata poked her head out from behind the boy. She smiled sweetly and bowed politely.

"Good morning Naruto-sama." she greeted. She looked over to Hinata and slowly approached her.

Hitomi was around thirteen years old, too young to go to war since she was still a genin. But she was Ko's younger sister and Hinata, who missed Ko, was glad that she was doing well at least. Hitomi presented Hinata with some flowers before leaving with her teammates, who were watching over her.

"She seemed nice..." Naruto noted before climbing back into the bed with Hinata.

Hinata nodded in agreement.

"So, I have this list of orders to take care of while I'm watching over you." he said, pulling out an unopened scroll. He opened it and began reading off the list.

"I need to feed you. Okay, I can do that. Protect you, no duh. Uh...uh..." Naruto blushed and looked back and forth between the scroll and Hinata, making her incredibly nervous.

"W-what is it?" she asked.

Naruto was flustered for a second. He sighed, he might as well get it over with.

"Never mind. We'll deal with it later." he answered. "Sorry." he said, obviously embarassed.

'I'll just get Hanabi to help bathe her. Did they really expect me to do that?' he wondered.

"It's okay." she whispered.

Naruto looked back into her eyes and smiled. His confidence grew within him as well. He suddenly lunged forward and kissed Hinata for the first time.


	4. Preparations

This chapter is a little shorter than I'd like it to be. I'm at my grandparents and want to spend time with them. I can say for certain that I will make a chapter coming up SUPER LONG just for you guys. Once again, I'm really sorry. But I will continue to update ever day.

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Tenten carried her bag on her back as she slowly walked to her destination. She would be staying with Neji this night. Most nights, Lee would stay with him, but it was his birthday and Tenten encouraged him to spend the night with his family. She approached the Hyuga complex and hurried to Neji's room. She knocked on the door and half a second later Lee opened it, gave Tenten a hug and ran off back home. She blinked at how quickly that happened before turning her attention to Neji.

He had been depressed ever since the war. He rarely spoke, and when he did it was usually out of anger or self-hatrid. It broke her heart to see him this way. She wanted the old Neji back. But she was too scared to say anything. That last thing she wanted to do was minimize what'd happened. He'd not just lost one of his eyes, he lost his family. Majority of his life had revolved around the clan, and now all of that was gone.

The Hyuga boy sat in the corner and there was no doubt about it, he was depressed again. Tenten sighed and set her bag down before going over to sit next to Neji.

He looked up at her with a look that Tenten had never seen before.

"Neji..." she whispered. A moment later he lunged forward and hugged Tenten. She gasped in shock but cautiously returned the embrace. After all this time he was finally breaking down and feeling all the emotions other than depression.

* * *

Hinata slowly sat up. It had been a week since she'd returned home and majority of that time had been spent in her room. But yesterday she'd been cleared by Tsunade to start walking again. She was warned not to train or strain her body in any way for at least another month, heavily disappointing her. Yet, at least she could walk. She turned and kissed her boyfriend on the forehead before going and taking a shower. They were going to go on their first date tonight and she wanted to look beautiful.

By the time she was through with her shower, Naruto had left to go get ready on his own and Shino was there to watch her in the mean time. She was happy to see her teammate. While she enjoyed her time with Naruto, she missed Shino. She smiled as she sat down on the bed. She was only wearing a dark purple shirt and black shorts, but she wasn't embarassed to show some skin in front of Shino.

"Are you doing okay?" he asked in his monotone voice. Hinata nodded. They were often silent around each other, but that was alright with both of them.

"I'm nervous though."

"About your date?"

Hinata nodded again. Shino understood.

* * *

That night Hinata was ready. Well, apart from mentally she was ready. The young woman wore her hair down as usual, but it was clean, shiny, and silky. In fact, her hair had never looked this good. The hair treatment Sakura had recommended really did do wonders to her naturally gorgeous hair. She wore a beautiful white dress with a lavendar belt. She wore matching shoes with a small heel. She was gorgeous and even Shino couldn't hide it. Kiba let out a wolf wistle at the sight of his teammate, causing Hinata to blush.

"M-maybe I should change..." she said shyly. She turned to go back to her closet but before she could take one step there was a hand on each of her shoulders. Her teammates stopped her and told her that she looked beautiful just the way she was. She wasn't so sure about that but she didn't have time to argue as there was a knock on the door.

Naruto had arrived to pick up his date.

* * *

They had been in Konoha for while. They knew that information was the key to their success, and they had their information. The Hyuga heiress was weak. But more than that, she had a major weak spot. They'd found out about her actions defending the Uzumaki boy against both Pain and Tobi. They were certain that she would do it a third time if she needed to.

The pair of Kumogakure shinobi grinned as they saw Naruto enter the Hyuga Complex to find his date, and their target.

The shinobi's names were Keiichi and Keiji. They were twin brothers and their jutsus were mostly combined. They'd been together all of their lives and were powerful shinobi, even gaining some recognition during the war for their efforts as part of the Allied Shinobi.

The two ninja were sure that with the power of the byakugan at their disposal, that they could gain their fortunes. They wanted nothing but money. They cared about each other first, but after that came their greed.

It took a few moments of waiting, but their target and her bodyguard/date left the Hyuga Complex and the twins exchanged knowing grins. Tonight was the night their lives changed for the better.

* * *

The young couple held hands as they walked down the street, away from the Hyuga Complex. Despite all the time they'd spent together already, both of them were nervouse, and the silence between the two reflected it. Still, despite being nervous, both of them were completely happy just being with each other. Each and every day Naruto was simply grateful for Hinata to be alive and honored that she agreed to go out with him. Before the interaction with Pain, he never would've guessed that the Hyuga girl had such feelings for him. But all of a sudden knowing that there was someone out there that loved him, gave him such confidence. It didn't hurt that this girl was beautiful, perfect to him. She was strong and kind all at the same time. He loved her, and he was going to tell her that tonight.


	5. The Date

**Author's Note:**

Thank you so much to everyone who's reviewed this story. I really appreciate it. As a reward I'm putting up another, slightly longer, chapter today. I typed it while in the car so hopefully it's alright. Finally you'll see the start of my main plot of the story. I might actually have this done by the end of this month at this rate! So excited! Keep reading and reviewing.

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After several minutes of silence Hinata and Naruto arrived at their predetermined destination. Earlier Naruto had picked up some ramen for the two of them. They would be spending the date at a beautiful field where they could watch the sunset. Earlier, when Naruto asked what she'd most like to do on a date, she'd told him that she'd love to watch the sunset, so that's what they were going to do.

Naruto laid out a blanket and preparred their food. They still hadn't said a single word since leaving, and they knew that they'd eventually have to talk. The couple began eating their ramen.

"You look beautiful Hinata." Naruto whispered as he blushed. He looked up to see her blushing as well.

"T-thank you. You look very handsome..." she responded hesitantly. She gathered her strength and looked up into his eyes. Naruto set his food down and took hers to set down as well. He ran his fingertips across her cheek, gently feeling how soft her skin was. He smiled sweetly, gaining confidence.

Hinata blushed an even deeper red and could feel her heart beating faster and faster the more she looked at the love of her life. Slowly, Naruto leaned forward until his lips barely brushed against hers. She closed her eyes and returned the kiss. She couldn't believe her luck.

Every day she felt luckier and luckier. Following the war she was certain that most women would gladly date Naruto. Yet, for whatever reason he was chosing her. She tried not to focus on why too much. She would often get stuck thinking that she was unworthy of his love and wonder if he was doing this out of pity. Yet she was so happy that she would never mention any of this to him.

Naruto slowly laid HInata down on the large blanket and used his arms to prop himself up as he rolled on top of her. She smiled up at him before leaning forward to bring him back down for another kiss. Naruto was both shocked and delighted that Hinata was bold enough to initiate a kiss. He smiled into the kiss and pulled back. He knew that this was his moment. It had to be.

"H-hinata. I have something to tell you." he began in a whisper. He looked into her beautiful white eyes and could barely hold back the words for a moment longer so that he was certain that he held her attention.

"I love you." he whispered into her ear.

Hinata felt her blush grow a deep deep red. Her heart was beating wildly and she felt like she was losing control. But really, all she was feeling was happiness. Intense happiness like she'd never felt before.

Naruto loved her.

She didn't want to ask why, scared of the answer. She was just going to take the words as they were presented to her and love him back.

But she never got the chance.

The sound of a kunai slicing through the air gave the couple little time to react and Naruto used his body to protect Hinata's. The kunai stuck in his back and he let out a wince of pain.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata exclaimed out of worry.

His breathing became labored rather quickly and his face went pale. "Run. Get away..." he whispered before passing out. Hinata immediately put the pieces together, the kunai was poisoned.

'Byakugan!'

Hinata's eyes scanned the space and soon found the twins. She moved out from underneath Naruto and stood in front of him to guard his body. She was uncertain what kind of poison they used on him. There was no telling how much time she had.

"Show yourselves!" she exclaimed.

Identical laughter could be heard and all of a sudden the twins were on either side of her. She backed up, frightened for a second, but refused to just let fear take over.

"What do you want?" she asked slowly. The twin to her left laughed and she turned to face him, keeping her byakugan on the other twin.

"My dear Hyuga-sama. I think you need to ask what you want." he answered cryptically. Hinata was angry. The most perfect moment of her life had just been ruined by these ninja. She snarled at them.

"What do you mean?"

The shinobi took a step forward, but Hinata didn't budge.

"Are you going to protect him, or your clan?" he began. "The poison is slow acting. Keiji has the antedote with him. You have ten minutes to make your decision. We'll take you and your byakugan either way. You might as well save him." Hinata grew frustrated. She charged the man but before she reached him, he disappeared and reappeared back next to his twin.

"Nu-uh. I won't let a gentle fist user near me. Do you think I'm stupid? You have around eight minutes. Will you save him?" Hinata tried to charge them again, but they kept on moving before she could get to them. Before long she was exhausted, her injuries still weighting heavily on her. She looked over sadly at Naruto.

"Forgive me." she whispered. "I love you too."

She was weak on her feet but managed to stand somewhat confidently.

"Give him the antedote. I'll come with you. Just don't hurt Naruto-kun." she announced.

It was dark when Naruto opened his eyes. His whole body ached like a large herd of animals had trampled him. He sat up and was disoriented. He was dizzy and he couldn't think straight. He tried his best to put his thoughts together. Looking around he saw several things that didn't make sense at the moment. Ramen, likely cold. A large blanket laid out on the grass. A kunai with blood on it. His back stung. Naruto winced and made the connection that the kunai had injured him a little. He looked around for more clues as he started putting the pieces together.

A strand of long violet hair.

It all made sense. Naruto let out a pained cry as he got to his feet.

'Kage Bushin No Jutsu'

A second Naruto appeared and new immediately what to do. He ran off towards Konoha for reinforcements, hopefully some trackers. Perhaps Kiba or Shino. Naruto didn't care as long as they helped find Hinata.

The original Naruto picked up the strand of hair and knew immediately what it meant. Hinata had been taken. During their time together he'd recounted the story of how his parents fell in love, when Minato rescued Kushina. She must've remembered how Kushina used her hair to mark the trail of where the ninjas were taking her.

Naruto kept his eyes out and sure enough he found another strand of hair. He grew determined to find Hinata and knew that he'd do anything and everything to find her and bring her back home safely. He cursed himself over and over again for not protecting her this time. He wasn't paying attention. He was being stupid and foolish. Her protection was supossed to come before anything else. And once again Naruto wondered if he was really good enough for her if he couldn't even stop her from being kidnapped.

He found more strands of hair, one after another clearly marking the path that Hinata had been taken on.

And then blood. His eyes widened at the sight and he remembered why Hinata and Hanabi were the ones being targeted. To steal the byakugan, they didn't even have to be alive. Terror took over for a moment as he realized that he might already be too late. They may just be carrying back a dead body. A dead Hinata.

Hinata had been knocked out by the Kumogakure shinobi, or so they thought. The twins didn't want her attacking them. They knew how formidable the gentle fist was. The byakugan was a prize indeed and they could barely contain their excitement as they waited for the day when they too would be able to use the Hyuga clan's techniques.

As soon as they were far enough away, they stopped to rearrange their belongings. Then Keiji noticed something amiss. There some of the girl's hair had fallen onto the ground, like they'd been pulled off. He turned to the girl.

"Ha!" she exclaimed as she used a single gentle fist sent to his heart. The girl had never used this extremely deadly technique before, and the chakra cost was slightly taxing to the already exhausted and recovering kunoichi. The younger twin fell to his knees as his heart gave out.

"You!" the other twin threw a kunai at her and it was too late for Hinata to avoid it. She closed her eyes and let the pain take over as she blacked out.

Naruto refused to give up. He felt numb after his realization, feeling stupid and worthless because of his lack of professionalism. He was certain that the blood was Hinata's. He found that the trail of hair ended. He had no idea where to go. But he did find something interesting. A man with a Kumogakure headband was dead with no external injuries. Naruto put the pieces together and a smile tugged at the edges of his lips.

"Hinata." he whispered. The girl hadn't given up. She'd managed to off one of her kidnappers. Naruto had no idea how many there were, but he doubted that there were many.

Finally, Kiba and Akamaru arrived. They were out of breath and their eyes told the whole story, they'd seen the blood as well and were equally as frightened. Kiba sniffed the air, and so did Akamaru. They both agreed on the same direction.

"This way." Kiba announced before heading off. Naruto followed him as they both moved as quickly as possible to save Hinata.


	6. Keiichi's Revenge

**Author's Notes:**

I couldn't wait to post this. Seriously I'm giving everyone three chapters today. And this chapter is the most exciting, I promise. At least for now. And there'll be an Author's Note at the end of this chapter too so you don't freak out.

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He couldn't stand it. This girl had killed his brother, he didn't even get to burry his twin. If he had the powers he would remove her byakugan right then, but he didn't. He would have to get back home to his friend who would to the job for him. Now he would get both eyes. But he didn't care.

Sure, the girl was still alive. But she wouldn't be for long. His anger was such that Keiichi wanted revenge. He would kill the girl. But not just that. He would torture her. He jumped as he felt something amiss. He looked down at one of his scrolls to see that his trap had been sprung. Someone had found Keiji's body.

The boy was going to try to rescue her.

Keiichi laughed evily at the implication. It meant that he could torture the pair. They could watch helplessly as the other died. At least then they would know the pain of having a loved one die. It would be just like Keiji's death except slower and more painful.

He pulled out a long strand of rope, holding several different bottles. The only question left for Keiichi was which of his many poisons to use.

* * *

Kiba stopped suddenly and Naruto followed suit. Akamaru growled as he faced the cave filled with many mysterious scents, but Hinata's was there as well.

Naruto didn't bother to wait. He rushed right into the cave and heard a scream.

It was Hinata. She was in pain.

"HINATA!" he screamed as he continued running into the dark cave.

"Naruto watch out!" Kiba warned. But it was too late as the poisonous gas took over the cave, rendering both Naruto and Kiba unconcious.

* * *

The poison was ingenious. Honestly it was Keiichi's best and he was damn proud of it too. The Hyuga girl didn't get any. She was no threat, not in her condition. She was weak, extremely weak because of her earlier injuries. But the new fresh wound of the kunai that stuck all the way through her shoulder probably didn't help. He'd likely broken a bone with that one. He didn't care of course.

The poison prevented the two captured shinobi, and the dog, from moving. He locked the Inuzuka and his dog in the very back of the cave, a large rock preventing their escape if the poison wore off before their death. He had no use to Keiichi. He wouldn't have to be tortured. They could stay there and die.

The young couple sat right next to each other. A single kunai was stuck through both their hands and into the ground. The Hyuga girl also had her other tied behind her back and her feet were tied as well. The poisoned Uzumaki wouldn't be able to move even if he wanted to. But he would feel everything. Every little scratch.

Moreso, he will hear every one of Hinata's painfilled screams.

The Uzumaki boy awakened first.

He looked around the cave, wondering where he was. Then the pain of the kunai being stuck through his hand hit him. He tried to move, but couldn't. He was able to move his eyes and from his position he couldn't see his hand. What he could see was that the person next to him had long violet hair.

"Hinata!" he exclaimed, trying desperately to move. His muscles didn't respond. Actually, Keiichi was quite shocked that he could speak. The poison wasn't as formidible as he thought. Still, Naruto couldn't move and that was the important part.

"Good to meet you Uzumaki Naruto. Let's wake up your girlfriend so that she can die." he spoke menacingly. Naruto growled at him.

"Leave her alone bastard!" he screamed angrily. Kurama awakened deep inside of him, but Naruto politely refused. He would handle this one on his own.

"What inappropriate language from the hero of Konoha!" he exclaimed. Keiichi bent down and took ahold of Hinata's other hand. He bent her forefinger violently, breaking it. Hinata let out a scream of pain as she awakened to more pain.

"Leave her alone damn you!" Naruto continued screaming and struggling. Still, he was getting nowhere.

Hinata heard Naruto's voice and immediately felt dread. He'd followed her. Of course it was his mission. But she didn't want to bring him into this. She wanted him to be safe. She glared up at Keiichi.

"Let him go." she managed to say in a weak whisper that spoke to how much pain she was in at the moment.

"Oh no. We've already done that once Hyuga-sama. And what did you do? You killed my brother!" He slapped her across the face. Hinata held back noise, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of a reaction. Hinata's head landed on Naruto's shoulder. She turned her head to whisper into his ear.

"Thank you Naruto. For everything."

Hinata looked up at Keiichi. She was determined to stop Naruto. And if this man thought that he'd stopped her already, he was wrong.

Hinata closed her eyes and focused her chakra. She made sure that her needles were as small and strong as possible before expelling chakra in the right places to loosen her bonds. She jumped to her feet and tore the kunai from her hand before turning to face her opponent.

"Hinata! Run, get out of he-"

"No, Naruto. If I run, he'll kill you. And I will protect you. I vowed to protect you. And I stick to what to say because that is my nindo."

Naruto openly sobbed.

"And I vowed to protect you." he whispered. Hinata knew that it was true. But she couldn't doubt herself then. And Keiichi was ready.

"Going to keep talking with the boy or are you going to come to your death?" he asked.

Hinata bit her bottom lip as she gathered her strength. She was facing death once again, and now she really knew that it would be worth something. Naruto would notice her. He would see how strong she was! She would get to save his life again. If she was going to die, then so was this man. Determination sparked in Hinata's eyes as she bent her arms at the elbows and concentrated her chakra.

"Juho Shoshiken!"

She lunged forward, and like before Keiichi was gone in an instant. She chased him around the cave several times until they were right in front of a screaming Naruto.

"Hinata! Damn it! Run! You have to go back! Go protect Hanabi! You have to save your clan! Don't stay for me. I'll forgive you! Just get out of here. Don't do this..." he continued ranting, trying to come up with more and more reasons for her to leave. More reasons for her to live. But Hinata was barely listening.

Keiichi disappeared once again and reappeared behind her with his sword in hand. In one fluid movement he stabbed Hinata with it, through her body. She screamed out in pain and her blood splattered on the floor.

Naruto was only two feet away.

Hinata was sure that this would be it. That she would die right then. But she remembered that if she didn't end Keiichi's life, that Naruto would die as well and the byakugan would be stolen. She braced herself in that moment for something that would be extremely painful. She used her body to steal the sword away from his hand as she began striking his body with her gentle fist, sending Keiichi to hell.

Both Hinata and Kumogakure ninja collapsed at the same time. Hinata managed to move her body and pull the sword out, wincing in pain as she did. The large puddle of blood underneath her would definitely seal her fate.

She slowly drug herself over to a sobbing Naruto.

"Hinata...why...you didn't have to..." he managed to say inbetween the tears. Hinata smiled sweetly.

"Because I love you. That is why." Hinata maneuvered her body so that she could lean against him she laid her head on his chest as she struggled to keep her heart beating.

"Hinata. I love you too. Please don't go...Promise me." he begged.

But Hinata gave no response.

"HINATA!" Naruto screamed. Somehow the poison's effects went away and Naruto knew that it was the nine-tails that did that for him. He lunged forward and picked Hinata up. He'd completely forgotten about Kiba, but it wouldn't have stopped him.

He had to get her help. She had to live.

* * *

Half-way back to Konoha, a group of medical ninja met up with Naruto and took Hinata from him. He turned back and got Kiba and Akamaru to safety. When he arrived at the hospital he was stopped by Tsunade from going in search of Hinata.

She was on the verge of tears.

"Baa-chan. Where's Hinata?" Naruto asked forcefully. The Hokage took a few deep breaths, preparred to give Naruto the news.

"There was nothing to be done. She was dead before she got here."

* * *

**DON'T FREAK OUT!**

The story is not over. I still have loads of NaruHina goodness for you. It's just not very...conventional. But it'll soon make sense. Please review!


	7. Parent's Love

**Author's Note:**

Thank you to everyone who reviewed. I'll get back to each and every one of you, I promise. I'm hoping to get two chapters up today but I don't know if that's going to be possible. We'll see though.

* * *

It wasn't raining, in fact it was sunny when Hinata was burried. The funeral was attended by most of Konoha, even if majority of the people never personally knew Hinata. They at least knew of all the things that she'd done and how brave she'd grown.

One of her eyes was given to Neji. He refused it at first, but Tenten and Lee convinced him otherwise. If he was going to be the new head of the Hyuga clan, he needed to be as strong as possible, and he needed both eyes for that.

During the funeral, Naruto sat in the back. He didn't say a word. He hadn't said a word since the day Hinata died. His thoughts seemed to always be elsewhere, and he was never in the moment. Almost all of his friends had visited him, but no one was able to get him to act like his old self.

After the funeral service, Naruto returned to his apartment and collapsed onto the bed. He pulled the sheets up and closed his eyes. He'd slept more than ever before recently, because it was better than living with the thoughts he was suffering through. But this time, the dream was strange.

* * *

Like all of his dreams the past few days, it started out with him and Hinata. They were happy. They were in love. A life of happiness began flashing by.

Their first date, without interruption.

Hinata going back to training and the two of them becoming Jounin.

Naruto asking permission from the Hyuga Elder and Neji to marry Hinata.

Naruto proposing at sunset, with all of their friends there.

The couple getting married with everyone they cared about there.

Their wedding night.

Hinata pregnant with their first child.

Naruto becoming Hokage.

Their second, third, and fourth children, all with byakugans and becoming great shinobi.

The two of them old and retired, with lots of grandchildren and a clan that was coming back to its previous power.

It was the perfect life. It was what the two of them would've wanted, and possibly what they could've had.

But even in the dream Naruto knew that it wasn't real. Hinata was dead and there was nothing to be done about it.

But the dream didn't end there.

Two pairs of warm loving arms embraced Naruto. He looked up to see his parents, holding him, letting him know how much he was loved.

They sat him down. The dream felt so real, Naruto almost doubted that he was asleep. He prayed that he would never wake up when this dream world was full of such happiness, such life.

"Naruto. This girl, the Hyuga girl, do you love her?" Minato asked his son. Naruto didn't even hesitate.

"Yes. I love her very much. But she's gone. Just like both of you." he answered in a depressed voice. Kushina reached out her hand and held Naruto's.

"There's a way to save her. It's very dangerous. But if you truely love her, then there are ways." she looked up at Minato and smiled. He nodded.

"This won't bring Hinata back to life. Its a possibility that she can be saved. But for right now, she is dead. Only one jutsu can truely bring her back, and only one person knew how to use it. You witnessed it yourself."

Naruto nodded. Gaara had been brought back.

"Okay Naruto. You need to go find a shinobi in Suna. His name is Minoru. I don't know if he is still alive, but he had several children, one of them will be able to help you. Tell them that you are my son, they owe me. Then tell them your story. Don't leave out your love for this girl, it is very important. Do you understand?"

Naruto nodded.

* * *

When Naruto awakened, he didn't care if it as a dream or not. He would do what his parents instructed him to. He got up and immediately showered and packed for his journey. He then went to see Tsunade-sama.

"I need to go to Suna." he said simply. While it confused her greatly, she didn't even bother questioning Naruto. He was an adult, for the most part. He was completely capable of taking care of himself. She wondered if he was going to go talk with Gaara. But she doubted it. If he was looking for someone to talk to, he had plenty of friends here. Either way, she granted him permission.

Five minutes later, Naruto was on his way to find Minoru.

'I promised to protect her. I've failed once but I cannot fail again. If there's any chance, I must take it.'

He closed his eyes and remembered the dream and all the happy moments in there. He wanted them so badly. He wanted to marry Hinata. He wanted to have children with her and help raise them to be strong like their mother. He wanted to pass on what Jiraya taught him. He wanted to die of old age with his wife. He wanted all of that. And if this person could help him regain that possibility, he would do anything.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

So. I know this was short. Really short actually. But I wanted to post it now and that's why I'm hoping to have another chapter up today.

Reviews feed me.


	8. Arrival at Suna

**Author's Notes:**

Now here's where you figure out what Minato's talking about. Yay!

I know, story is moving quickly. I try to slow down but I'm just so freaking excited! Ah!

* * *

For three days, Naruto had nothing to think about but his mission and his dream. He could barely hold back emotions but at the same time it was hard for him to feel anything anymore. The image of the sword stuck through Hinata's body was burned into his mind. He could've done something, he knew that. If he hadn't been so stubborn he could've asked Kurama for help and then Hinata might still be alive.

Every time he had the dream, now without his parents involved, the scenes got more and more detailed and lasted longer. His favorite was Hinata pregnant with their first child. She was so happy, and in his dream he was as well.

They were newlyweds, likely conceiving during their wedding night or sometime in the following week. Everybody was excited for the arrival of their child, and they were flooded with gifts and extra protection for Hinata who would have a safe and worry free pregnancy. And right on her due date, she would give birth to a baby boy with red hair, just like Kushina's and eyes just like his mother's. They young couple was overjoyed and named the child Minato after his grandfather.

Naruto found himself living in his dream world more and more. He wanted that world more than this one.

But that world had to wait, because he had things to do in this one. He arrived at Sunagakure and was immediately welcomed by Gaara, Temari, Shikamaru, and Kankuro. Shikamaru had been spending a lot of time there following the war. Naruto had heard rumors that it was because of Temari, that they were finally dating. Temari gave Naruto some flowers.

"We heard. We're so sorry." she whispered. Naruto nodded.

"Thank you."

Gaara felt saddened to see Naruto this way. He'd done so much for him, completely changed his life for the better, and now he was suffering through something like this.

"Do you need anything? Would you like to talk?" he asked. Naruto nodded.

"Both." he responded. He looked up at the other siblings. "Alone. Sorry."

The three others understood and left him and Gaara alone. They walked in silence to the Kazekage's office.

"I really was sorry to hear about Hinata. I heard that the two of you...were happy." he said hesitantly as he sat down behind his desk.

For some reason Naruto felt completely calm and able to open up in Gaara's presence. Both of them had a long history of being able to relate to each other, perhaps that was why Naruto felt so comfortable right then.

"We were happy." he answered. Naruto sighed and the two sat in silence for awhile.

"I need to find a shinobi here named Minoru. I was told that he could help me get Hinata back."

Gaara was shocked. Naruto had never done anything like this before. But then again, the love of his life had recently died. He didn't blame the Uzumaki for looking to save her and bring her back to him.

"I know of him. He's long dead. But his...special jutsu. It's forbidden. Though there are rumors that his granddaughters know it." Gaara answered.

"Forbidden?"

"Time travel is forbidden. Yes. Not just here, but everywhere. It's too powerful of a technique and it goes against the laws of nature, especially if you use it to save a life or to take a life." Gaara answered finding himself in a huge moral dilemma.

"Gaara! You have to let me. Just once! I have to save Hinata...I-i don't know what else to do! I don't even want to be Hokage with out her. Every single night I keep dreaming about a future that's impossible! I-i..." he paused and collapsed into a chair.

"I want that future so bad Gaara. I don't care about the price. But if this is forbidden, I'll need your permission."

Gaara stood up and looked out his window. Who knew what would happen if others heard about this? He trusted Naruto to simply save Hinata and not do anything else to disrupt the flow of time. However, there weren't many other people he trusted like that, and certainly not the general population. He sighed.

"Bring the granddaughter here. The oldest one, her name is Kotone. I must make both of you swear to keep this a secret. This jutsu must only be used this once. If it got in the wrong hands, it would create chaos, do you understand?"

Naruto nodded. Everything was falling into place. He wouldn't mess up this time. He couldn't.

"And one more thing."

Naruto worried. "What?"

"When you two get married, you better invite me to the wedding."

* * *

The directions given to him were very clear and it only took five minutes to get to the house of Kotone. He knocked on the door a moment later a young girl, around the same age as himself opened it.

"Hello. Can I help you?" she asked politely.

The girl had long straight dark red hair that looked especially smooth and shiny and green eyes. Her skin was flawless except for one scar over her eye that marred her face. She had a Suna forehead protector around her waist. She wore a silver shirt that was thin with a fishnet shirt underneath it. She wore fishnet stockings that reached her legs along with a pair of short black shorts. She was clearly dressed for the weather in Suna.

"Uh. My name is Uzumaki Naruto. Is Kotone here?" he inquired nervously. The girl smiled.

"That would be me!" she exclaimed.

Naruto was shocked. He'd never even heard of a jutsu as powerful as time travel, and here was a young girl, who couldn't be older than eighteen, that apparently could perform it! He was immediately impressed with the young kunoichi, but time couldn't be spent on that.

"Uh, Gaa- I mean the Kazekage needs you. And well, then I need you. And then Hina-well uh. Just the Kazekage wants to see you."

The kunoichi blinked. "Oh. Okay." She shut the door behind her and locked it before the two shinobi took off to the Kazekage's office.

* * *

**A/N**

You better be happy. Three chapters yesterday and two today (so far, I might write some more before I go to bed tonight.)

So, I'll probably have this done in two or so weeks at this rate. I may make a sequel depending on how sucessful this story is, that'll be based on people reviewing and stuff. But wait until the end of the story.

Reviews feed me.


	9. Kotone's Jutsu

**Author's Note:**

Another short chapter. But I wanted to go ahead and post it tonight, so I will. I'm thinking I might finish the story this week and then have a second story that continues from this one. But I don't know yet. Two shorter stories, or one long one?

Anyway. Here's a THIRD chapter for today.

* * *

Naruto was out of breath for a few moments when he arrived back in Gaara's office. He got there a good minute before Kotone, who was just as out of breath as she was.

"You...didn't tell me...we had to rush!" she said between gasps for air. Naruto didn't bother to give her an answer and opened the door to the Kazekage's office.

"Okay. I have her." he said quickly, wanting to get a move on. He didn't want to waste another second. It was time to save Hinata and that was what he was going to do. He was going to save her and finally have that future he'd been dreaming about.

"Good." Gaara said. He motioned for both of them to take a seat.

"Kotone. Thank you for coming here on such notice. I need to ask you to do something that you were once told never to do."

Kotonoe tilted her head. "My grandfather's jutsu?"

Gaara nodded. "Yes. My good friend here came in search of someone who could use it, and you're the most capable. I've heard you've sucessfully done it three times. That's more than anyone else other than your grandfather. I need you to send him back thirteen days. Can you do that?"

Kotone blinked. "Thirteen days? Are you kidding me? I've never done more than a week!" she exclaimed. She looked over at Naruto.

"What do you need it for anyways?" she asked suspiciously. Naruto opened and closed his mouth several times, trying to come up with the right way to respond to her question.

"That doesn't matter Kotone. What does matter is that we all keep this a secret. I must have both of you promise right now that the usage of this jutsu remains completely a secret. Do you understand?"

They both nodded.

"Good. How long to you need to prepare Kotone?"

The girl bit her bottom lip. "Not much time. I just need to stop by my house. And we should do there outside of town where nobody will be when he arrives in the past."

"Good. We shall accompany you there."

* * *

The three shinobi arrived at a hidden cave, far away from Suna. It was nightfall by the time they arrived.

Kotone arranged several objects and some scrolls as well, summoning larger objects.

"This jutsu is very complicated. I think I'll be able to send you back thirteen days, but I may be off by as much as one day. So if that happens, I am sorry. The way it works is that I will send you back those days and you will arrive in the same place you are standing in right now. You don't come back to the present, you stay in the past and live through those thirteen days until you are back to the present. When it comes to this time, you'll disappear. It'll probably be painful, but you and all of your memories will cease to exist. Okay?"

Naruto took in the information. He understood.

"Now stand in the circle."

* * *

There was bright flash of light and Naruto found himself extremely sick as soon as it ended. He stumbled for a moment before realizing how dizzy he was and falling ill for a moment.

"Well that sucked." he mumbled to himself.

He checked to make sure that he had everything before heading out. If he was lucky he would be back in time to stop the ninja from ever throwing that poisoned kunai at him. He and Hinata would have the perfect, uninterrupted date, just like he'd dreamed.

After he stopped them, he would just hide out until his time was up. He took several deep breaths and found himself feeling better. He got onto his feet, feeling much steadier and began his journey back to Konoha.

* * *

Naruto watched from the bush as Hinata left her house with him, the old him. He found himself on the verge of tears when he saw her alive. He'd been at her funeral only a few days ago, and now he was witnessing a very alive and beautiful Hinata. He could barely contain his joy. But he had something to do, he had to protect her.

* * *

**A/N**

Reviews feed me. And if you want me to read your fanfiction, let me know. I need some new stuff to read anyway and it's a way of giving back to ya'll.


	10. Protecting Hinata

**Author's Note:**

I'm sorry about how short this chapter is. I've been pretty brain dead today so this chapter probably sucks as well. Hopefully having school tomorrow will make my brain start working.

* * *

It was really hard for Naruto to stay focused, afterall Hinata was right there in front of him. Alive and breathing and just as beautiful as ever. But he had to protect her, it was the never ending thought in his mind. He couldn't fail a second time.

Once they sat down to enjoy their meal, Naruto spotted the twins. He picked out to kunai and threw them. They silently hit their targets, but it was far than enough to kill them. And unfortunately the attack was loud enough that the original Naruto and Hinata noticed it.

The Naruto from the future ran into the clearing. "Run! Get out of here!"

The couple was stunned and confused, which angered the future Naruto.

"Hinata is in danger. Save her now!" he ordered. Saying that HInata was in danger spurred the original Naruto into action, picking up his girlfriend and running from the battle about to take place. Hatrid burned in Naruto's eyes as he knew that he was about to get revenge. He would never again get to hold Hinata, the other Naruto would do that. His Hinata had died, and these shinobi caused that to happen.

* * *

Only five days had passed, he had eight left before his existance would end. He shivered when he remembered that Kotone had told him that it would be painful. He wondered what exactly that would mean, but tried his hardest to push it out of his mind.

He wondered where the old him had taken Hinata. It would have to be some place safe, where they would never look for them. Hopefully lots of people would be there and they could blend into a crowd while perhaps even continuing their date.

Naruto snapped his fingers and smiled as he figured out where they would be.

"BBQ!" he exclaimed happily. He figured he owed them an explination, and this way he would get to spend some time with Hinata, even if it wasn't his Hinata. At least he'd given this future a chance. Hinata was safe and that was all he could ask for right then.

The shinobi ran off to his destination and quickly found the couple in a booth hidden in the back corner of the restaurant.

"Oi. I need to talk to you." he exclaimed. Immediately the original Naruto moved to shield Hinata.

"D-don't worry. I'm not here to hurt you. I'm from the future. I came back to save Hinata." he explained quickly.

"And why should I believe you?" the original asked.

"Because I'm you. Seriously, ask me anything."

After a long line of questions, from clothing sizes, to memories, to embarassing moments, they started to believe him.

"Why would you have to save Hinata?" the original questioned. The Naruto from the future sighed sadly, not particularly wanting to relive that but understanding that he should probably tell them.

"Back there were two ninjas from Kumogakure who were going to kidnap Hinata. T-they threw a poisoned dagger at me, catching me off guard. I don't know what happened next, but when I woke up Hinata was gone. So I chased after them and found a place where Hinata had managed to off one of them, they were twins, and the remaining ninja injured Hinata. It scared me to death. But Kiba helped me track down where she'd been taken. I was stupid, I ended up poisoned again and when I woke up I couldn't move. Hinata was there too. A-and...she was injured and weak and she somehow escaped being tied up, they didn't poison her. And she attacked the ninja and h-his sword..." Naruto was so angry right then that he had to stop the story. The original Naruto was tightly holding onto Hinata's hand, terrified that they'd so narrowly avoided that fate.

"Hinata managed to kill him, but at the cost of her own life. I took her back home and Baa-chan told me she'd died. The night after the funeral, I had a strange dream. My parents told me to go to Suna to look for a shinobi named Minoru. So I did and I found his granddaughter who could perform this amazing time travel jutsu that's actually forbidden but luckily Gaara allowed it. And so I came here and saved Hinata..."

The story was fast and hard for the couple to understand, but they got the idea behind it. If this Naruto hadn't time traveled, Hinata would've been dead. It terrified both of them, who'd just started going out, and for once being completely happy despite everything else.

"Well. I guess I should go. I'm suppossed to disappear in a few days." the future Naruto said before awkwardly leaving.


	11. Movie Night

**Author's Note:**

Yeah. So school just killed my brain even more. I can't think today, I have the dumb.

Anyways. I just threw myself for a loop with something I wrote in this chapter. I'll explain more at the end of the chapter.

Thank you guys for the reviews, even the ones that I don't like. It gives me something to think about. I will admit that my story has holes, but in all honesty every story has holes. But hopefully I can pay better attention from now on.

* * *

"That was..." Naruto began in reaction to what they'd just learned.

"Wierd?" Hinata suggested. He shook his head.

"Honestly, terrifying. All of that happening, I sounded so...useless..." he noted. Hinata blinked a few times, unsure of how to take what he just said.

"Useless?" she questioned. He nodded.

"Yeah. I should've been able to protect you from all of that. Honestly, it should've been easy." he responded. Hinata thought on this for awhile before realizing that he was right. Even that first kunai should've been easy to dodge.

"Maybe its because you haven't trained in awhile?" Hinata suggested weakly. Naruto shook his head.

"It's not like it's been years."

Hinata bit her bottom lip. He had a point. He should've been able to save her right then. Just then, almost like a response to what they'd been wondering, Naruto began coughing. Hinata offered her napkin and rubbed his back as he coughed. She felt worry grow in her stomach as he continued coughing for a good minute. When he stopped there was something on the napkin, blood.

Hinata immediately freaked out. She took Naruto's hand.

"Let's go to the hospital." she whispered. He shook his head. "Nah. I'm fine. If I'm sick tomorrow then we'll go. Okay?"

Hinata as worried. She didn't want to wait. She wanted to make sure that he was okay. But at the same time she didn't want to force him to do anything. She wanted him to be happy. Still, the future Naruto seemed completely healthy, so this Naruto should be fine was well, right?

She hoped that she was right. She would never forgive herself if she wasn't right. Odds were that coughing up blood was a bad sign. Probably a really bad sign. But she trusted him. So after they finished their meal the couple returned to her house.

It was late when they got back, and both of them were exhausted. Naruto continued coughing rather often, but didn't cough up blood or anything else like he did the first time.

Hinata changed into more comfortable clothing, some shorts and an orange sweatshirt. Naruto laughed as he saw her sweatshirt and opened his arms for a hug. Hinata blushed as she allowed him to hug her and pull both of them onto her bed. Naruto kissed her cheek.

"Hm. Orange, my favorite color." he noticed her blush and kissed her cheek again. "Have I ever told you that I love it when you blush." he whispered. Hinata blushed an even deeper red and wasn't able to come up with words.

Naruto just held Hinata in his arms, and was completely content doing just that. For some reason, he wasn't tired enough to go to sleep quite yet. He decided that it was because of the adrenaline earlier that night.

"Want to watch a movie or something?" he suggested. Hinata turned to look up into his eyes.

"O-okay." she answered. She started to get up, but before she could Naruto lifted her up in his arms bridal style. She let out a squeak as he picked her up, but giggled a little as he took her to the main room where their TV was. He set her down on the couch and went in search of a movie.

He didn't know what to pick at all. What would Hinata like? It had to be something innocent. He didn't want to think about how akward it would be to watch a sex scene with her when that stage in their relationship was a long time away. So anything that had a sex scene was out of question. He was left with action movies, a few romance movies, comedies, and romantic comedies. Perhaps romantic comedies would be the best.

He turned when he heard something coming from the other side of the large room where a small kitchen was.

"Hinata?" he questioned when he noticed that she wasn't on the couch.

"I'm just making some popcorn." she answered.

Naruto turned his attention back to the movies and chose a romantic comedy that was about two musicians. He'd never watched it, but it was rated PG-13 so there couldn't be anything too awkward in it, right?

Hinata finished popping the popcorn and took two water bottles from the fridge. She plopped down on the couch and put their food on the coffee table in front of her. She watched with a smile and a slight blush as Naruto fumbled with the complicated expensive enertainment system they Hyugas had. Finally he had it figured out and the movie started. Hinata reached for a blanket and pulled it over them. She laid back into Naruto's arms, which wrapped themselves around her waist.

Hinata loved having his arms around her and Naruto loved having Hinata in his arms. For them, it was the best way to be. The movie was sweet. But seventy minutes or so into the movie a scene that Naruto had tried desperately to avoid came on. To his horror it contained some upper body nudity.

'How is this not rated R?' he wondered. He closed his eyes and tried to keep himself from being turned on in a very obvious way. Once the scene ended he was relieved. He lightly kissed the top of Hinata's head when the movie ended and the credits started rolling.

"Want me to carry you to bed?" he asked. Hinata asked and threw his arms over his shoulders. He smiled as he picked her up and carried her to the bedroom. He laid her down on the bed and for a moment admired her body. Hinata blushed.

"You're gorgeous. Have I told you that yet?" he joked as he climbed into bed next to her, laying on his back. She rolled over so that she was laying on his chest.

"N-no. But I think I heard you say something even better earlier today..." she whispered shyly. Naruto blinked a few times before remembering. He leaned down to whisper in her ear just like he did earlier.

"Hm. Was it something about me being in love with you?" Naruto blushed a little, but didn't mind. He meant it and there was nothing to really be embarassed about.

"I love you too." Hinata whispered as she closed her eyes and started to fall asleep.

* * *

**A/N:**

Okay. So there are several ways this story could go.

Naruto being sick: I just noticed that both Shin and Itachi were sick, perhaps its contagious and a lot of people, including Naruto, get sick. I don't know if I'll go in this direction or not.

More Time Traveling: I don't know how exactly I'd include it. But it sounds like fun.

More Kidnapping Attempts: Pretty obvious, but it would get boring pretty quickly

More of a Romance Story: Naruto and Hinata's life together, like what he saw in the dream.

Anyways. Let me know what you'd like to see.


	12. Konoha Outbreak

**Author's Note:**

I still don't know exactly where I'm going. And my writing sucks right now. If I didn't promise to have a chapter up everyday, there wouldn't be one today. But here's a chapter of suckishness.

* * *

The next week was wonderful. Hinata continued having a cough, but never showed any other symptoms. Every night they went on a date, going to the movie theater, making a meal together, and even taking a pottery class, neither of them had any talent for it, but it was fun.

Half-way through the night, both Naruto and Hinata were awakened by someone knocking on the door. Naruto signaled for Hinata to stay on the bed as he went to answer it. The door squeaked as it opened and revealed that Shino was there.

"There's an emergancy, the Hokage wants everyone to report to the hospital."

Naruto blinked in reaction. "Why? Who is everyone?"

Shino shrugged. "I don't know. I just know that I was sent to get the two of you."

Without more of an ansswer, Shino left. Naruto was clearly frustrated with that encounter. He went in search of his jacket as Hinata grabbed her clothes and went to the bathroom to change. Naruto scooped up Hinata.

"We'll get there faster this way." he said with a wink as he carried her to the hospital. Half-way there, Hinata started coughing like Naruto was earlier.

"A-are you okay?" Naruto asked worriedly. He stopped and kneeled, allowing Hinata time to recover.

"Y-yeah. I think so." she responded. He brushed his fingers across her cheek. The worry was clear in his eyes.

"I promise. W-we should go."

He nodded, still worried, and picked her back up.

When they arrived at the hospital, Sakura was at the door with a mask over her mouth. She looked up at the two of them and smiled.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked as he set Hinata down.

"There's been an outbreak of an unknown disease. We're testing everyone for it and trying to prevent the spread of it. Only shinobi who were involved in the war seem to be affected so far. We've identified a few symptoms, most people start with coughing."

Naruto and Hinata exhanged glances.

"Oh. Does that mean that you guys are sick?" she asked.

"I don't get sick. But even then I was coughing for a little yesterday. But on the way here Hinata..." he looked up at Sakura.

"Don't worry, nobody's died. Take Hinata inside. I'm going to have her sharing a room with Tenten if that's alright." she wrote something down and motioned for them to go inside. As they opened the door they were immediately taken back by all the chaos inside. It seemed that every shinobi in Konoha was there. Half of them were wearing masks and gloves, apparently the ones who weren't sick yet.

Naruto was thankful that he couldn't get sick. But he grew concerned for Hinata who was already in a weak condition. They walked hand in hand through the crowded hall to the room that Tenten was in. They found her to be asleep and extremely pale. Next to her was Neji, in a mask and gloves. He was asleep, holding her hand.

Hinata sat down on her bed and Naruto joined her.

"Tenten looks really sick..." she remarked in a whisper. But even that soft of a sound woke Neji up. He looked to see the couple and blushed as he let go of Tenten's hand.

"A-are both of you sick?" he asked worriedly.

"No. Hinata is though. I don't get sick." Naruto answered. On cue Hinata began coughing again. Naruto's arms rested on her shoulders as he waited for her to stop.

"That's how it starts. It's how it started with Tenten. Then yesterday she just fainted out of nowhere. She was one of the first ones. I-i don't know what's going to happen..." Neji said worriedly. He wished that it was him and not her. All the emotions confused him, but he knew that he truely cared for Tenten and that he wanted to protect her. She was important to him.

* * *

**A/U:**

Yeah. Reviews blah blah blah.

I'm sick of school already and I'm only half way through the summer semester. Blergh. Don't freak out if there isn't one up tomorrow. There probably will be.

And let me know if you like where it's going. I don't know how long I'm going to take the 'Konoha Outbreak'.


	13. Neji & Tenten

**Author's Note:**

I feel better about my writing today. Probably not perfect, but I'm doing pretty awesome. I have an A in both of my classes, and that's great. So my anxiety is A LOT better now.

So I didn't really like this whole outbreak thing, so I'm ending it pretty quickly. If you're a NejiTen fan, you'll love this chapter, or at least I hope so.

* * *

It seemed that over two hundred shinobi were sick. All of the med-nin were constantly on duty, watching to see what would happen next. Most of them were still coughing and otherwise felt fine, several demanding to leave the hospital because they thought it was nothing. But tweleve shinobi, including Tenten, had progressed past the coughing. Most of them had lost conciousness out of nowhere and then started running high fevers. It was unclear what would happen next.

Hinata and Naruto found themselves rather bored. At the same time both of them were worried about Tenten. Lee had come to visit a few times, but was limited in how long he could stay, he was one of the lucky ones that didn't get sick. Even though they kept on asking Neji to leave, he continued refusing. He stuck by Tenten all through the night and the next day.

It was the next night, Naruto and Hinata were both sound asleep and curtain was pulled through the middle of the room, seperating the two couples. Neji was fast asleep in a chair pulled close to Tenten's bed. He gently held her hand in his own.

Tenten awakened slowly and was quickly disoriented. She felt someone holding her hand and pulled it back. Neji's hand held onto her, making it hard for her to tug away. But as soon as she opened her eyes and saw who it was, she stopped.

"N-neji..." she whispered as she looked around completely confused. Neji offered a weak smile and continued to hold her hand.

"Shh...you're in the hospital. You've been sick." he whispered gently, surprising Tenten. She was too weak to protest anything and so she nodded.

"I'm cold." she whispered. Neji looked around for some blankets but didn't find any.

"I'll go get some." he responded before getting up and searching for a nurse.

When he returned, the room was complete chaos. Several people were in there fussing over Tenten. He tried to make his way in to see what was going on, but he was stopped and told to wait outside. He watched in horror as Tenten was wheeled out of the room and down the hall. She was paler than before and he could've sworn that there was blood on some of her sheets.

As soon as she was gone she rushed into the room and confronted Naruto and Hinata.

"What happened?" he demanded.

"Tenten started coughing again, this time she was coughing up blood. A-and there was a lot of it. We called the nurses and apparently her heart was beating too fast. They're taking her to Tsunade-sama." Hinata answered. Naruto was holding Hinata close, terrified that the same thing would happen to her. He couldn't protect her from something like this.

Neji collapsed into one of the chairs. He was on the verge of tears.

"N-neji-kun. Tenten's strong. I'm sure she'll be okay." Hinata said, trying to comfort her cousin.

"I-i know she's strong. But she can't use weapons with this. This isn't something we could train for. This is..." he sighed and burried his face in his hands.

"Neji!" a voice called from the hallway. Neji rushed outside to see who it was.

Hinata turned to look into Naruto's eyes and the worry there was clear.

"Neji's right. No matter how stong a person is, you can't protect a person from getting sick." Naruto whispered. Hinata smiled weakly and gently pulled him into an embrace.

"Tenten will be fine. I'll be fine. I trust Tsunade-sama." she whispered, tightening their embrace just a little.

Nobody came to replace Tenten. And Neji never returned. For a whole day, Hinata and Naruto didn't know what had happened. Then, Sakura came in with a smile.

"We have a cure." she announced.

"There's a vaccine, and medication for those that already have it. They're administering it at the door. So, if you want to leave, feel free to." she smiled.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto called out before she left.

"Is everyone alright?" he asked. Sakura paused for a moment and then nodded.

"We had a few close calls, but everyone's alive." she announced before leaving.

As Naruto and Hinata left the hospital, they noticed Neji. Hinata ran over to her cousin and gave him a hug.

"We heard that everyone's alright. I'm so relieved!" she admitted. Neji gently hugged her back.

"Don't tell anyone. But I have a date with Tenten next week." he whispered in her ear. Hinata let out a squeal of excitement but smiled. She was happy for the two of them. After everything that'd happened, they deserved happiness.

Naruto and Hinata went through the line, got the medication and everything and soon were on their way back to Hinata's house.

"I just realized that we never cleaned up after movie night..."

* * *

**A/N**

And there's chapter thirteen. I still don't know where I'm going to go with it now. But I'm sure I'll figure something out. I'm going through a few ideas in my head right now. I might actually have another chapter up today as well.

Reviews feed me.


	14. One Month Later

**Author's Notes:**

So. Because of this chapter I'm changing the rating to 'M'. It's just to be careful because of the topics that come up in this chapter. I actually really like what I've written and I'm getting back into being interested in the story. I think it may turn into mostly a romance story for awhile before I add some action back in. So hold tight for a few chapters while I give you NaruHina awesomeness.

* * *

A lot happened over the next month. Everyone who'd gotten sick recovered within a few days of taking the medication, and everyone in Konoha got the vaccine so that nobody else would get sick.

Naruto and Hinata were completely happy with being together, finding that once Hinata got over her shyness and the fainting that she actually had a pretty good sense of humor and Naruto always loved her insight. While Naruto was still under orders to protect Hinata, it seemed like they were just hanging out and being Konoha's Number One adorable couple. Of course these days they had competition for that title.

Like Neji had revealed to Hinata, he and Tenten were going on a date. It must've gone really well because they were officially a couple now. Their relationship was moving rather quickly, but nobody cared about the PDA because they were happy for the couple. Neji told Hinata that he had no idea how much he cared for Tenten until the war.

Shikamaru was on the verge of permanently moving to Suna. While they hadn't officially come out as a couple, it was pretty obvious to everyone that he was staying there for Temari. Tsunade and Gaara both had already given them their blessing to live in one place or both.

Hinata already told Naruto that she saw a few others that might be dating, or start soon. Recently, Sakura had been hanging out with Lee. While Naruto insisted that she was too nice to turn down hanging out with a friend, Hinata noticed that she was dressing up when she hung out with Lee, which is something she'd never done before.

In all, it was a pretty calm time in Konoha. Following the war, many people found themselves relieved and wanting to live the life they thought they might lose during the war. Even Naruto found himself wanting to settle down. Still, there were still missions to be done and because of the peace in Konoha, they've been able to secure the city to the point where Hinata would be safe on her own. It also helped that Hinata had finally been cleared to resume training and do anything physical that she wanted, which caused her to blush in response. She wondered if people really thought that she and Naruto were...getting physical.

She wondered if that was something Naruto wanted. That was what she was thinking about as the young couple arrived at Ichiraku's for lunch.

While Hinata was normally quiet, she was even more so today and Naruto had noticed. He sat down next to her at Ichiraku's.

"What's on you mind?" he asked, clearly somewhat concerned. Hinata was pulled out of her thoughts. It took her a moment to understand what he'd just said because of where her thoughts were going.

"O-oh nothing. S-sorry." she responded and offered a weak smile. They made their orders, but Naruto wasn't going to let this go. He wanted to know what was on her mind, having no idea what she was actually thinking about!

"Please...you know you want to tell me!" he smiled. Hinata blushed and shook her head.

"Fine! Be that way!" he crossed his arms and jokingly turned away. Hinata, who was constantly terrified of losing Naruto, didn't know how to respond. As soon as the food came he dropped the act.

"You know Hinata, you can tel me anything. I'll love you no matter what you tell me. Mkay? But you don't have to tell me anything either. I was just pestering you..." he admitted. He dug into his food.

Hinata held her chopsticks tightly for a moment, not knowing what to do. She did trust Naruto. But when it came to a physical relationship, she didn't know what she wanted. She knew that the only person she wanted was Naruto. But was now the time? It had been almost two months since they'd started going out, what that a normal amount of time to date before getting physical? She was almost certain that Neji and Tenten had already gotten to that point in the relationship. But they were different people. This was her and Naruto.

Maybe they didn't have to go all the way? But Hinata found herself with a lack of information. Of course she knew the anatomy and how things worked. She knew all the science behind it. But sex was more than science. It was making love, or at least that's what she wanted to be whenever she and Naruto got to that point.

Hinata and Naruto were in silence as they walked back to Hinata's house. Tomorrow Hinata would train with Neji all day, leaving Naruto to go train on his own. They would be seperated for awhile. It would be the first time that they were apart for more than one or two hours.

When they arrived back at her house, they went into the living room. The house was completely empty, as always. Because there were only a few Hyugas left, every one of them were being trained in the main branch's techniques, under Hinata's orders. Therefore Neji was spending a lot of time training Hanabi and Hitomi, with the Elder's supervision. Several times Hinata would watch as well. She was excited to join tomorrow.

Hinata sat down on the couch and motioned for Naruto to join her. She was extremely nervous and she was blushing. Naruto was confused but joined her on the couch. He moved to wrap his arms around her, but she stopped him. Instead she took his hands in her own and looked up at him. She grew flustered and looked away.

"Uh. About e-earlier. I was thinking about us..." she answered nervously. Naruto tilted his head, wanting to know more.

"What about us?"

Hinata had to calm herself down, she felt herself close to fainting for the first time in a rather long time.

"H-hinata. Are you alright?" he asked, tightening his grasp on her hands. Hinata managed to nod and gather herself.

"Y-yeah." she answered. The Hyuga took a few more deep breaths.

"I was thinking about our relationship. A-and I was thinking about what was...next?"

It was clear that Naruto wasn't following Hinata and where she was going.

"Physically..." she added shyly.

Then Naruto understood.

"O-oh..."

The thoughts started right away. He wondered what Hinata meant by that. Did it mean that she wanted to have a more physical relationship? Was he ready for that? He was sure that if it was what she wanted, that he would be fine as well. But maybe it wasn't what she wanted. What if he'd said something wrong, making her think that it was what he wanted. Maybe she'd noticed the times that he had morning wood after sleeping together.

"Um. Okay. L-lets talk about it..." he started, feeling incredibly uncomfortable.

"Is that something you'd like? Or want?" he asked, unable to look at her because of his embarassment.

"I-i don't know." she answered. She giggled, shocking Naruto.

"I couldn't see myself hating it..." she comment relieved some tension and Naruto found himself smiling.

"Well, that's good to know." he responded happily.

"Well, how about we take it slow. I'm in no rush. Wherever you want to be in our relationship, that's where we'll be. Alright?"

Hinata smiled and leaned forward to kiss Naruto. She was gently as she laid Naruto down on the couch with her on top of him. She felt his arms on her back, holding her close as he deepened their kiss.

* * *

**A/N**

Reviews feed me.


	15. Diamonds

**Author's Notes:**

I couldn't wait to post this. I wanted to wait, have some back up work in case I wanted to relax one day. But no. I love this. So much awesomeness. If you don't like romance, you won't like this. Lots more NejiTen, and obviously some NaruHina in here.

* * *

Nothing happened that night above what was normal. As usualy, Naruto and Hinata slept together with her laying on his chest with his arms around her. She loved sleeping like that and felt completely ready to train when she woke up early in the morning, way before Naruto. She slipped out of bed, careful not to wake him, and went to change into some training clothes.

She wore a purple shirt that was loose, but short at the same time. It showed her belly button every time she lifted her arms. She wore some black shorts that reached her knees. She picked up some paper and left a note for Naruto on her pillow saying that she had already left to go training. She smiled and kissed Naruto on the forehead before tying her forehead protector around her neck and leaving.

She was the first one in the courtyard where she'd be training, making it there as the sun began rising. She sat down and waited patiently.

It was ten minutes or so before Hanabi showed up. It had been awhile since the sisters had spoken. They'd never been that close to begin with. Yet in recent circumstances, Hinata knew that she should make an effort to be closer to Hanabi.

Hinata got to her feet as Hanabi approached. She was nearly crying as she realized how horrible of a sister she must be. She'd never really been there for her, somewhat out of jealousy. Afterall, for several years their father ignored her in favor of Hanabi. But that was no excuse. Hanabi was suddenly an orphan, having only an older sister to take care of her. Yet Hinata had done nothing.

"C-can I give you a hug?" she asked weakly. Hanabi was shocked by the question. But she hesitantly allowed Hinata to give her a hug.

* * *

The Hyugas trained for several long hours before they called it quits around lunch time. The family grew closer than every during those hours. As soon as training was over, Neji took Hinata aside.

"I need to ask you for something."

She tilted her head. He looked excited.

"O-okay..."

Neji took a deep breath. Hinata wondered what was coming. This was totally different for him, but ever since he started dating Tenten, he'd changed. He was happy almost all of the time and wasn't as serious as he used to be. He was willing to take a break and just relax. He spent more time with his friends, and twice as much time with Tenten.

"I want to marry Tenten. I want your blessing first though, as the head of my clan." he announced.

Hinata's eyes widened as she took in what she'd just been told. This was a huge development. Their relationship was moving so fast, while her relationship with Naruto wasn't moving anywhere near as fast. Still, she was overly excited for him.

"Of course!" she exclaimed.

"So when are you going to propose?" Hinata asked.

"I don't know yet. I haven't bought the ring..." he sighed.

"I don't even know where to begin with buying a ring. Could you help me?" he asked.

Hinata was taken aback by his question, but at the same time she was happy.

"I don't know much either, but sure I'll help."

* * *

The next day Naruto was released from his duties of protecting Hinata. Or at least Tsunade's orders. He still wanted to protect her because of his own vow. He decided to use this freedom to go train. Hinata let him know that she'd be safe because she'd be with Neji most of the day. Naruto assumed that they would be training, having no real idea of what they'd actually be doing.

Hinata and Neji were at the most expensive jewlrey store in all of Konoha. The Hyuga clan had a massive fortune, and Hinata encouraged Neji to spend some of it on the ring, though it likely wouldn't even make a dent.

The store was small and luxurious in its own right. Hinata was amazed by the beauty of everything inside. She almost forgot that she was helping Neji look, she was so overwhelmed by how many diamonds there were. But one ring caught her eye the quickest. It wasn't the most expensive, but to her it was the most beautiful.

The ring had lots of small diamonds on it with one simple large diamond standing out. It was shinier than she'd imagined possible. Neji laid his hand on her shoulder. Causing her to jump.

"O-oh sorry. We're looking for a ring for Tenten..."

The two Hyugas spend hours weighing the positives and negatives of several rings. They had to keep in mind that she was a weapon user, it couldn't get in the way. In the end they decided on a ring without a large stone on it. The main stone was rather small, but the whole ring was covered in small diamons and decorative swirls. It was one of the most expensive rings in the store.

Neji made his purchase as Hinata waited outside for him. After buying the ring, Neji got the information about the ring that Hinata loved. Afterall, he owed Naruto quite a bit. The least he could do was make sure that he had the best ring possible whenever he proposed to Hinata.

* * *

That night Hinata fell asleep rather early, before Naruto got back from having dinner with Chouji and Kiba. He didn't want to interrupt her and he wasn't exactly tired yet. So he went to the living room and watched TV.

Neji found him there. He smiled, remembering what happened earlier today. He pulled the information about the ring that Hinata liked, including a picture of it, from his pocket.

"Oh hey Neji!" Naruto exclaimed as he noticed that he wasn't alone.

"Naruto. I have a few things to tell you..."

Naruto made a ridiculous perverted face. "About Tenten?" he asked.

Neji frowned and crossed his arms. "Am I going to have a conversation with goofy Naruto? Or can I have the one that acts his age?" Neji asked.

"Okay okay fine. I'll behave. What's going on?"

Neji sat down next to Naruto.

"I'm proposing to Tenten this week. I went shopping for rings today...with Hinata."

Neji pulled out the information about Hinata's ring and handed it to Naruto.

"Is this the ring you're giving Tenten?" Naruto asked. Neji shook his head.

"No. That's the ring Hinata fell in love with." Neji said calmly.

Naruto blushed. The ring was beautiful, it looked like something Hinata would like. It was simply, yet amazingly beautiful. It was bright and gorgeous.

"W-wha...Okay. But, I mean...did Hinata say something? D-does..." Naruto was on the verge of freaking out. "Does she want me to propose?" he asked. He didn't know what he wanted to hear. He wanted to marry Hinata someday, but would it be appropriate to get engaged so soon. That was what Neji was doing.

"She didn't say anything. But you know Hinata's been in love with you for years. No matter when you ask, she's going to say yes. And while I'm here, will you be one of my groomsmen?" Neji asked.

For a moment Naruto forgot all about the worries with his own relationship. His smile was as big as ever.

"Of course! I'll make sure you have an amazing Bachelor Party!" he exclaimed. Neji frowned.

"No. You won't, that's Lee's job." Naruto's smile got even bigger.

"Bushy brows is your best man?"

Neji shrugged. "I haven't asked him yet. Actually only you and Hinata know right now and I'm not going to tell anyone else until after I propose. I have to make sure Tenten says yes first..."

* * *

The plan was simple. Hinata and Tenten were going to be at BBQ, hanging out. Tenten would have no idea that Neji was about to show up. The girls were laughing and enjoying their meal, having an amazing time. They talked about their boyfriends and how both of them were happy. Hinata was smiling, knowing exactly what was going to happen.

Right before they left, Neji showed up. He wore a tux and in his hand was a single red rose. He kneeled in front of Tenten, who was shocked to see him there.

"N-neji..." Tenten's eyes were big in shock, but at the same time she was smiling, almost as if she knew what was going to happen.

"Shhhh." Neji took Tenten's hand in his own.

"I don't really know exactly what to say Tenten. I know that you make my days better. I know that I love you. I know that you make me a better person. I also know that I want to marry you." Neji reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small black box.

Tenten let out a squeal of excitement as he opened the box, revealing the perfect ring.

"Tenten, will you m-"

Neji was cut off as Tenten lunged forward and kissed him. She wrapped her arms around him and the young couple fell to the floor.

"YES YES YES!" she screamed before kissing him some more.

Hinata was excited by the sight, loving seeing Neji and her friend both so happy to be together.

* * *

Naruto watched the scene from the front of the restaurant. He smiled watching Neji and Tenten both completely happy. But his focus kept on going over to Hinata.

He reached into his pocket and felt the little black box in his pocket.

Inside the box was the perfect diamond ring.

* * *

**A/N**

See! I had to post it!

Reviews Feed Me


	16. Opening the box

**Author's Notes:**

I just want to thank everyone who has read my story so far. I don't have much to say right now. I'm exhausted. But I really enjoyed writing this chapter. I'm looking at ending this story soon. Likely with a sequal following rather quickly. I'm thinking five or six more chapters before I end this one.

* * *

Naruto couldn't bring himself to propose right then. Partially it was because he was nervous. But he also thought it would be rude. Afterall, this time was for Neji and Tenten. It would be distasteful to compete for attention right then.

He told himself these things, but mostly he was nervous. Despite being told that no matter what he did or when he asked that Hinata would say yes, he still worried. If he asked too soon she might faint, or worse, she might say no. He didn't know what he would do if she rejected him.

So that night, the little black box never left his pocket.

In fact, it went untouched for weeks. And then he came up with a plan.

* * *

Naruto and Hinata had been dating for about four months. Everything was going pretty good. They hadn't made it very far physically, but neither of them were upset about that. In fact they both were content to wait until they were both completely ready. Naruto even suggested waiting until their wedding night, which Hinata agreed to but let him know that she didn't mind going that far sooner if it felt like the right time.

It was the day of Neji and Tenten's wedding, and it was time for Naruto and Hinata to make the way to the chapel. Hinata wore the same dress as they other bridesmaids. It was a short green dress with matching heels. Hinata was unsteady wearing them, but was assured that she could change before the reception.

Naruto wore a tux, and Hinata couldn't help but admire how handsome he was. She stared at him the whole time as they made their way to the chapel and got ready to walk down as a groomsman and bridesmaid. They interlocked arms and slowly walked down the isle. Hinata smiled at Neji, excited to see him so happy.

The wedding was beautiful, almost as beautiful as Tenten. The whole crowd was amazed at her beauty, including Neji. He looked to be on the verge of crying.

Tenten's dress was simple. It was long and strapless and as white as possible. She wore white gloves and her hair was down and straightened.

After the wedding, and Neji breaking down crying as they exchanged vows, it was time for the reception. Hinata and Naruto hurried home so that she could change her shoes to some flats that were more comfortable.

As Hinata went and changed, Naruto reached into his pocket and made sure that he had the ring. He smiled, feeling more confident than ever.

Hinata returned and the two made their way to the reception. The room was large, and rightfully so because of how many people would be attending. The meal had already started, leaving Naruto and Hinata eating quickly to catch up to everyone else.

Once the meal ended, the dancing began. After several songs, Naruto and Hinata took a break. Naruto signaled to Neji, who knew what was going to happen. Neji whispered to Tenten, who also knew what was going on, and she went to dance with Lee for a little while. Neji walked over and extended his hand to Hinata.

"Would you dance with me?" he asked. Hinata looked to Naruto, who encouraged her to go. She smiled and went to dance with her cousin. As soon as Hinata was distracted, Naruto made his way quickly over to the stage. He waited until the song was over before getting on stage and taking the microphone.

"Excuse me. I'm sorry for the interruption, but I have something to ask." he announced. He looked out into the large crowd and immediately grew nervous. Still, he was determined to go through with this.

"Hinata. Would you join me on stage?"

Hinata was shocked and scared. She turned to a smiling Neji.

"W-what's going on?" she asked. But she didn't get a response, just a push towards the stage. She could feel everyone's eyes on her as she joined Naruto. He pulled the mic from the stand and held it as he smiled at the shaking Hinata.

"Hinata." he spoke. Slowly he pulled the box out of his pocket and got down onto one knee. Hinata let out a squeal of surprise.

"I love you. There is nobody else for me. I vowed to protect you, but I want more than that. I want to let you know every day, how much you mean to me, how smart and beautiful you are, and how strong you are. Because of this, I have one thing to ask you. Will you marry me?"

Naruto opened the box, revealing the very ring that she'd fallen in love with. Her eyes grew wide and she was shaking so much out of nervousness that she looked almost like she was about to collapse, luckily she didn't.

"Yes." she answered weakly. Naruto jumped up to hug Hinata, lifting her into the air.

* * *

The rest of the night was crazy. It seemed like every single person in the world decided to personally congratulate the newly engaged couple. Every minute Hinata checked her finger, making sure that the ring was real and that the proposal actually happened. Finally, the reception ended. Naruto had to carry Hinata back to her house because she was half-asleep and sometime during the night she got drunk. She couldn't walk straight, even if she wanted to.

She was definitely a happy drunk. She was giggling and laughing the whole way home. But that wasn't the part that scared him the most because her personality completely changed when they got back to her room. Hinata moved quickly, surprising Naruto. She fell onto the bed, pulling Naruto on top of her. He was shocked by the movement and pulled back immediately.

"H-hinata. You're drunk. You need sleep." he whispered gently before kissing her forehead. Somehow Hinata seemed to return to normal, though still a little giggly. She then felt herself getting nauseous. She rushed to the bathroom, stumbling on the way. Naruto watched worriedly as she ran off. He followed her a moment later and held her hair. She was sick several times before finally stopping. She was embarassed to be seen this way by her fiance.

She tried to get up but stumbled. Naruto caught her.

"Woah, woah. Let me help." he said as he picked her up.

"I-i need to brush my teeth." she whispered. Naruto carried her over to the sink and she leaned against it as she managed to brush her teeth. She felt a lot better after that. She reached out to Naruto to help carry her back to the bed. She was drunk enough afterwards that she couldn't stay awake much longer. Naruto would've been content with letting her sleep as she was. But she needed to change out of that dress. He tried to awaken Hinata, but she was completely out.

He had no idea what to do. He didn't want to invade her privacy! And there were certainly parts of her body that he hadn't seen yet. He calmed himself down a little with a reminder that he wasn't doing anything inappropriate. He was going to help her change clothes, nothing else.

Slowly he rolled Hinata onto her side so that he could unzip her dress. He took it off of her as quickly as possible. But then noticed something amiss. She hadn't been wearing a bra! Naruto blushed a deep red. He tried his best not to look. This was more than he signed up for. He took several calming breaths trying to regather himself since he could feel his body responding to the sight.

He quickly pulled out one of his own t-shirts that was big for him and would seem like a dress on Hinata. He pulled it over her head and managed to put her arms through the holes. Finally she was dressed again. He let out a sigh of relief in response to making it through such an awkward situation.

* * *

**A/N**

So. I'm thinking about writing some Borra fanfiction. (Bolin/Korra)

I hope I have some Legend of Korra fans here.

Also, in the future this fanfiction will have some material that rates above M. For that I will post it on another site. I'm just going to let you know now.

Reviews feed me.


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